Not applicable.
(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to systems and methods for performing generally nonsupervisory monitoring of conditions indicating faults or the onset of faults, collection of data valuable in decision making with regard to maintenance, and operation as built-in test equipment to aid in diagnostic and fail safe functions of the host system, in connection with a submarine mast. More particularly, the present invention provides an autonomous record keeping system that operates transparently to the host system and preferably shares mast communication lines and tasks to provide monitoring and diagnostics related to mast events of interest.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
It would be desirable to improve the reliability of submarine mast/antenna systems. For purposes described herein the submarine mast may comprise one or more moveable submarine masts, periscopes, antennas, and/or combinations thereof. Historically, volume within the submarine mast has been in such demand for functions critical to the submarine that there has been no room for any data collection devices. As well, significant concerns exist about electrical or electromagnetic interference that might arise from monitoring devices mounted within such tight spaces as the submarine mast volume that could possibly degrade performance of the duties of the submarine mast/antenna under certain conditions either by limiting real time processing abilities or by producing electrical interference.
Therefore, the presently utilized means to verify performance at sea in the prior art involves manual surveys and data input from maintenance/materials/management data reports. This method is labor intensive and has not proven adequate to detect problems early enough to avoid reactive, unexpected, and hence expensive responses. The data reports have been manually converted into a field reliability database via a suitable keyboard interface. The resulting time lag and variable quality of the information has significantly inhibited the potential effectiveness of this feedback procedure. Moreover, the data reports have not always provided sufficient and/or timely enough data to anticipate problems.
Various inventors have attempted to solve related problems as evidenced by the following patents.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,724,429, issued Feb. 9, 1988, to Millen et al., discloses a system for monitoring each of multiplicity of variables in the operation of a filter rod making machine that includes sensors located at various points on the machine. These sensors measure the value of such variable parameters as the width of the tow, the alignment of the wrapping paper, the speed of the rollers and the level of plasticizer. Each measured value is compared against preset limit values in a microprocessor. If a variable is detected to be outside a range of acceptable values, an indication of this fact is displayed on a monitor. In response to this indication, an operator can decide whether to override the limit value or take corrective action. If corrective action is to be taken, the microprocessor causes a diagnostic chart to be displayed. This chart provides the operator with a sequence of troubleshooting steps that can be taken to isolate the source of a possible problem and perhaps correct it before there is a need to arrest the operation of the machine.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,790,424, issued Aug. 4, 1998, to Sugihara et al., discloses a display method and a display unit wherein information which is required or often used by an operator is processed visually by enlarged display or colored display in accordance with historical data such as the past running conditions of the plant, the number of times of operations by an operator, the frequency of operations, and so on, and the processed information is displayed on the display unit. The use of historical data permits an operator to readily recognize which equipment is in most need of attention due to repeated problems in the past.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,831,540, issued Nov. 3, 1998, to Sullivan et al., discloses a system to determine the usage of loading dock equipment such as a dock leveler, a vehicle restraint and a barrier gate. The system provides an output indicative thereof. For each loading dock component mounted at a loading dock in an operable configuration whose operation is to be monitored, sensor outputs are used to provide data accumulated by PLC""s located in a control panel associated with the loading dock. When operation of a piece of equipment is initiated the occurrence delivers an output signal to the PLC. A counting circuit accumulates a count of the output signals. The panel has displays in the form of lights and screens and the data may be read out by means of a hand held unit for display and/or programming or delivered to a remote PC by appropriate cable.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,133,841, issued Oct. 17, 2000, to U. L. Beckman, discloses a pole alarm system including an electromagnetic field sensor and collision sensors for detecting overhead power lines and physical obstructions within the intended path of a telescoping mast or utility boom device. The alarm system of the referenced patent includes a mast-mounted housing containing the sensors and a microprocessor-based control unit which interprets the output signals of the sensors and provides both audible and control feedback to a safety control module in the vehicle to alert the operator of impending contact and to automatically stop the movement of the mast. The alarm housing also features a light source which provides illumination in the direction of movement of the mast to assist in positioning thereof. The light source also functions as a heating element to prevent the accumulation of ice on the housing which would detrimentally affect the performance of the system. The alarm housing also includes a plurality of tilt sensors which monitor the orientation of the mast to prevent mast extension if the device deviates from an acceptable range of operation. A system integrated safety control module mounted in the vehicle provides self-test functions and an error code display to alert the operator to the cause of an alarm signal.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,157,310, issued Dec. 5, 2000, to Milne et al., discloses a monitoring system for monitoring operation of dynamic plant apparatus. Electronic processing means is provided for processing the electrical parameter signals provided by sensors and is capable of thereby producing a plurality of different fault signals. Display means is provided for displaying fault information to a user of the monitoring system, the display means being controlled by the fault signals produced by the electronic processing means. The electronic processing means compares the values of at least some of the measured parameter signals with limit values stored in memory by the electronic processing means and when the comparison shows that the value of a measured parameter signal is outside the respective limit value the electronic processing means produces a respective basic fault token signal. There are storage means with a plurality of different storage sites, each storage site having a plurality of storage locations for a different predetermined variety of basic fault token signals. When all storage locations of a storage site are filled by basic fault token signals then the electronic processing means produces a high level fault signal, causing the display means to display a fault message.
However, there remains a long felt but unsolved need for improved monitoring of submarine mast events that can be made without degrading operational abilities and/or increasing the cost of existing submarine mast functions. Those skilled in the art will appreciate the present invention that addresses the above and other problems.
Accordingly, it is an objective of the present invention to provide an improved mast monitoring system and method.
Another objective is to provide a system and method as aforesaid which provides a system and method that is transparent to the mast host system.
A further objective is to provide a system and method as aforesaid whereby a microcontroller is programmed to utilize existing mast communication lines on a time-sharing basis.
A still further objective is to provide a system and method as aforesaid whereby the sensors are electrically isolated from the mast host system.
Yet another objective is to provide a system and method as aforesaid which is capable of performing and/or being delegated to perform functions such as fail-safe functions and/or routine functions for the mast host system.
These and other objectives, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the drawings, the descriptions given herein, and the appended claims. However, it will be understood that above listed objectives and advantages of the invention are intended only as an aid in understanding aspects of the invention, are not intended to limit the invention in any way, and do not form a comprehensive list of objectives, features, and advantages.
In accordance with the present invention, a system is provided for monitoring events related to a submarine mast. The system may be comprised of a combination of various types of components such as, for instance, a microcontroller electrically interconnected to the host system such that the microcontroller is connected to the host system communication wiring, a plurality of sensors mounted to the submarine mast, a wiring harness for supplying data from the plurality of sensors to the microcontroller wherein the wiring harness may be electrically insulated with respect to the host system wiring to avoid electrical interference to the host system, and a microcontroller memory for the microcontroller to store the data from the plurality of sensors such that the microcontroller may be operable for automatically transferring the stored data from the microcontroller memory to a storage memory utilizing the host system wiring when the host system wiring is not being utilized by the host system.
The microcontroller memory may have sufficient storage capacity to store data for at least a significant portion of an overhaul cycle of the submarine mast, namely a plurality of months or for a plurality of years. The plurality of sensors mounted to the submarine mast may comprise suitably opto-isolated voltage sensors, current sensors, thermal sensors, other desired sensors which are opto-isolated and/or other sensors, whose operations are non-intrusive to the host system.
The system may further comprise a delegate module such that the host system is operable for delegating host system functions to the microcontroller. As well, the system may further comprise a teletypewriter (TTY) terminal interface to permit operation of the microcontroller through the TTY keyboard. The invention may also be practiced using any other known keyboard device to operate the microcontroller, such as a suitably programmed laptop computer.
In operation, a method for monitoring mast events of interest in a submarine mast is provided that may comprise one or more steps such as, for instance, (i) programming a microprocessor for operation independent of the host system, (ii) monitoring signals with the programmed microprocessor related to electrical current, electrical voltage, and temperature, (iii) storing monitor data related to the monitored signals with respect to time in a memory of the microprocessor, (iv) electrically connecting the microprocessor to one or more of the plurality of host communication lines on a time sharing basis whereby the microprocessor is operable for utilizing the one or more of the plurality of host communication lines when the host system is not utilizing the one or more of the plurality of host communication lines, and (v) dumping the monitor data stored in the memory of the microprocessor to another memory through the one or more of the plurality of host communication lines.
Other steps may comprise connecting a plurality of sensors to the microprocessor with a wiring harness that is electrically insulated with respect to the plurality of host system communication lines, programmably delegating selected host system functions to the microprocessor, and/or programmably delegating selected host system functions to the microprocessor in response to a failure of a selected mast component.
The method may further comprise utilizing an external clock for operating the microprocessor. The step of storing monitor data may further comprise storing the monitor data in a memory of the microprocessor of sufficient capacity to store information collected over at least a significant portion of the mast""s overall cycle, namely, for over one or more months or years before performing the step of dumping. In one embodiment, the method may further comprise utilizing the host system for determining when to perform the step of dumping. Preferably, the method may further comprise utilizing the microprocessor to perform diagnostics on the submarine mast.
In another embodiment, a system is provided that may comprise a microcontroller electrically interconnected to the host system through the plurality of host system communication lines, a plurality of sensors mounted to the submarine mast, and a microcontroller memory for the microcontroller to store the data from the plurality of sensors and for storing programming for operating the microcontroller, the microcontroller being operable for automatically transferring the stored data from the microcontroller memory to a storage memory utilizing a respective one of the plurality of host system communication lines when the respective one of the plurality of host system communication lines is not utilized by the host system.